Tuesday, December 23, 2008

On January 8th, we will have an in-person discussion of the Twilight Series at the library, but we can start talking about it now! I'll print out all comments about the books and bring to the in-person discussion. We can also record the discussion and post it here as a podcast for those who can't make it to the library.For the online discussion, I want to break it down into four discussions, so that there are no spoilers for those who have not yet read some of the books in the series. So, add your comments below to talk about ---specifically---the first book in the series, Twilight. Today, I received a copy of a book calledA New Dawn, which is a collection of essays about the Twilight series by authors of other teen books. As I'm reading it, I'll add some ideas from their essays into our online discussion. It looks very interesting!

Our blog was featured on a site called Teen Libris a few weeks ago. This is a website that you should seriously check out if you love teen books. Teen Libris, "your link to teen lit", has reading suggestions, reviews, a forum, and interviews with authors of YA fiction. It's a great place to get ideas for more books to read!

A blog created by local librarian Deb Noggle has been generating hits from around the world.Noggle, acting manager of the Allen County Public Library's Tecumseh Branch on East State Boulevard, recently began the Bella's Book Club blog, which is about the "Twilight" vampire books, the library said in an announcement.Looks like our blog is newsworthy. The following article was printed in the Features section of the December 22 Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:

Bella's Book Club (http://bellabookclub.blogspot.) has now surpassed 3,000 hits and has received visitors from 24 countries, the announcement said. Recently BabelFish translator was added so that the blog can be read in 12 languages. In addition, a ClusterMap was added so that visitors can see red dots on a map of the world for each hit.

"This is a great learning experience for the teens, and I tell them that their opinions matter, and that when they comment, they are being heard all over the world!" Noggle said in the release. "That really means something to them."

Summit Entertainment has announced plans to get “Twilight” sequel “New Moon” in theaters on Nov. 20th, 2009, with Chris Weitz signed to replace Catherine Hardwicke in the director’s chair.

Variety reports the studio is hoping the November release will help “New Moon” reap the same Thanksgiving success that “Twilight” enjoyed – which is a formula Warner Bros. had followed with its “Harry Potter” films before shifting the franchise to a summer release.

“New Moon” is the next installment in Stephenie Meyer's bestselling "Twilight" series – which features four novels. “Twilight” is still heating up the box office and has earned an estimated $150 million domestically in just four weeks.

MTV News reports : MTV News can confirm that 26-year-old "Scorpion King 2" actor Michael Copon [pronounced "COPE-on"] is one of several actors Weitz is considering to play the new, larger Jacob Black. A representative for Copon told us that they're making a full effort to land the high-profile gig. And in a bit of 21st-century self-publicity, the actor has even recently updated his Facebook status with messages like: "Michael Copon [is] in a Twilight Zone!" and "Michael Copon is the older Jacob Black!"

Copon's representative confirmed to MTV News that the Facebook page is run by the actor himself and that those are indeed his words.

Approached for comment on Lautner's omission from the "New Moon" press release, Summit confirmed that it was not a typographical error. "The casting decision in regards to the character Jacob Black has yet to be made," a representative told MTV News.

But even once Copon (or whoever else) is officially announced as the new Jacob, Weitz still has many other key casting decisions to make and an extremely brief amount of time in which to make them. With barely 12 weeks until cameras are due to begin rolling, the "Golden Compass" filmmaker needs to find faces to portray several key characters — including the peace-keeping, Italian vampires known as the Volturi.

With the buzz building for these roles, MTV News has confirmed that 27-year-old "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" heartthrob Ben Barnes is throwing his hat into the ring. The actor is already quite popular with the "Twilight" fanbase and shares the same manager as both Copon and "Twilight" star Cam Gigandet. Barnes is believed to be campaigning for the role of Aro, a mind-reading vampire whose "New Moon" encounter with Edward and Bella helps shape their destiny together.

So, Bella friends, what do you think about that?I know I have my opinions...

Monday, December 15, 2008

Rumors are abuzz about replacing Taylor Lautner as Jacob, and other actors being considered for the part. In Summit Entertainment’s press release on Saturday, which included the official synopsis of the movie, Stewart and Pattinson’s names appear in the synopsis after their characters, but Taylor Lautner’s does not. This looks bad for 16-year-old Lautner, who some consider too young-looking to play the updated, more powerful Jacob that we see in New Moon.

Summit Entertainment has announced that the director for New Moon will be Chris Weitz, who directed the big-budget film, 'The Golden Compass'. Those who saw Compass will remember the amazing special effects. Weitz said:

“I am honored to have been entrusted with shepherding ‘New Moon’ from the page to the screen,” Weitz said in a statement released today, discussing his involvement with Stephenie Meyer’s second novel. “The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book.”

The Summit press release added: “Weitz, an Academy Award-nominated writer, director and producer, has a proven track record working with a broad range of material dealing with youth-oriented characters, fantasy and action. As such, he has the potential to bring alive in ‘New Moon’ the dimensions and depth that fans will demand in the next installment.”

The release also offered, for the first time, the studio’s official synopsis for the sequel: “In ‘New Moon,’ Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black. Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and finds her loyalties tested. Production on ‘New Moon’ is scheduled to begin in the coming months and the studio is planning to release the film towards the end of 2009 or early 2010.”

Thursday, December 11, 2008

From the "Hmmm...interesting" files, AceShowbiz.com reported this:Movie heartthrob Robert Pattinson openly reveals that he'd been forced to fix his teeth before starring in the box office hit "Twilight". According to him, producers of the action-thriller-romance flick were unimpressed with his smile and thus asked him to have some major dental work before shooting was begun.

"They wanted me to have the perfect smile. I never thought anything was wrong with my teeth," Robert said. "But the producers still wanted me to wear a brace."

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Just a week after the 'Twilight' director discussed her ideas for directing the sequel, 'New Moon', Catherine Hardwicke regretfully declines the job. According to a Deadline Hollywood article, it was Summit Entertainment's decision, not Hardwicke's.Here's the official press release:Los Angeles, CA, December 7, 2008 – Summit Entertainment and director Catherine Hardwicke jointly announced today that the filmmaker will not be directing the next installment in the newly minted TWILIGHT film franchise. Summit’s targeted end of 2009 or early 2010 release of the film, NEW MOON, does not work with Ms. Hardwicke’s required prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen. Thus as has been done before with many successful film franchises, the studio will employ a new director for NEW MOON.

"I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct NEW MOON,” said Hardwicke. “Directing TWILIGHT has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel-- it is a great story."

Friday, December 5, 2008

L.J. Smith, author of one of Bella’s favorite series, The Vampire Diaries, has also written a 9-book series called Night World. The first three books are bound together in a new volume called Night World #1. The books in this volume are Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder.

Here’s the gift: From now until December 21st, you can download Secret Vampire from Simon & Schuster for FREE! You will be directly taken to a PDF of the book. Click here to download Secret Vampire.

It looks like it can be printed out and savored!

Thanks Simon & Schuster, and thank you to L.J. Smith for your great vamp books!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Dark Reunion, the fourth book in the Vampire Diaries series takes the story to a whole new level! Just when you thought it was all over, worse things hit the little town of Fell's Church, and now the kids are left alone without even one friendly vampire to help them out! Thankfully, Elena is there to help them in spirit, but will that be enough?

What did you think of this ending to the series?Bonnie predicts that "nothing is as it seems". Did you notice how the characters grow and change in this book? Which characters did you think changed the most?What does the title, "Dark Reunion" refer to?Were you satisfied with the ending?

Comment below, and we'll get a discussion going! Note: The in-person discussion is at the Tecumseh Branch this Thursday, at 3:30! Everyone is welcome to attend!

Grudge Match: Edward vs. Jacob ('Twilight')We compare two pop-culture subjects to see which you like better. This week's match:EDWARD vs. JACOB ("Twilight")In "Twilight," we have Edward, a vampire, and Jacob, a werewolf. Eddie is all about the beautiful Bella, and, well, Jacob doesn't think she's half bad either. So get out your fangs and claws, people. We have sides to pick.

THE GOODEd: He likes to neck. (Get it? He's a vampire.)Jacob: You can curl up to him to get warm on a cold winter's night.THE BADEd: He's old enough to be Bella's grandpa.Jacob: Many of his ex-girlfriends report he purrs a lot when he's sleeping.THE UGLYEd: He has that whole "likes-to- drink-blood" thing going on.Jacob: He might shed all over your parents' furniture.IF BELLA CHOSE HIM ...Ed: Sure, she's found her soul mate in Edward, but he's got a lot of undead issues.

Can you think of any other points of interest? Comment below, and let's keep this grudge match going!

Twilight the movie generated an estimated $70.5 million in North American box-office receipts during its opening weekend! The big success of ''Twilight'' also helps ensure Summit Entertainment's position in Hollywood. ''Twilight'' is the new studio's sixth release and only cost $37 million.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:Sources say stars Robert Pattinson, 22, and Kristin Stewart, 18, will get huge salary boosts from the $2 million each earned for "Twilight" -- reportedly $10 million more, per film, plus a nice percentage of the future movies' box-office take. While Pattinson and Stewart are coming back as the romantic vampire Edward Cullen and his young human love Bella Swan, the upcoming People Magazine reports that all major actors from the megahit vampire flick have signed on for the 2010 sequel New Moon and the Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke is getting ready for the next film.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

It's just mere hours before the premiere of Twilight the movie here in Fort Wayne, Indiana! Since we won't be having our own red carpet premiere, I just couldn't help putting up one more interview of the stars on the red carpet...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

One more day to wait! How many of you are going to see the movie? Are any of you going to see it at midnight on Thursday? Comment below.Here's your cool thing for today---the stars of "Twilight" on the red carpet at the premiere!

Wow! You BBC members are tearing through The Vampire Diaries so fast I can hardly keep up with you! I think that shows a positive response to the books. So, you like them, huh?

Let's discuss The Fury. Of all the books, I just felt that this one had the most action. It was the one that kept me up at night, reading page after page, unable to find a place to stop so I could sleep!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!! For those of you who haven't read The Fury yet, I've disguised the following questions.For those of you who have read it, all you have to do is highlight the lines below to see the questions...

What did you think about what Elena did when she woke up?

Will Stefan forgive her?

Did you think that she would ever become involved with Damon? How big of a surprise was that?

What were your feelings about Tyler before you read this part of the book?

What are your feelings now about him?

Can you believe that Elena DIED?!?!?!

Let's start talking, people! This series is gettin' hot!Comments, PLEASE!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Good news. According to author L.J. Smith, there will be a Vampire Diaries 5! On her website, L.J. Smith, the author gives the following hints about the book, yet to be published:

"Yep, here he is, a whole book devoted to bad boy Damon. There is plenty, however, about Elena and her new powers to startle readers. The most important of her permanent changes is that she now has blood that is like rocket fuel compared to the unleaded gasoline that runs through everyone else’s veins. This blood gives Stefan unprecedented Powers, but he’s stuck with the same old problem; love Elena as she wishes and turn her into a vampire, or leave her? Stefan’s answer, this time, is to leave her briefly, in the hands of his brother Damon while he goes to track down a rumor that vampires can leave their curse behind. Bad idea. Damon is possessed by a powerful spirit from halfway around the globe, and it decides that Elena looks awfully enjoyable. Even when brought back to his ordinary self, Damon is difficult, and it isn’t until Elena and Damon go looking for Stefan that she gets a look at what’s under Damon’s shell. This is the epic Vampire Diaries fans have been waiting for; I hope you’ll enjoy it. "

Whoops! I missed Friday! Here's Friday's tidbit. :-) DNSummit Entertainment gets rights to all four books!The Hollywood Reporter announced today that Summit has acquired the rights to the next three books in Meyer’s series, “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn.” Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who adapted “Twilight,” will pen the scripts for “New Moon” and “Eclipse,” while a writer has yet to be named for “Breaking Dawn.”

It looks like we have a new series of movies to look forward to!!! Let's just hope that Robert Pattinson and Kristin Stewart are as committed to the project as Summit Entertainment is!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Midnight Sun Movie Scene!MTV News Reports that “Twilight” Director Catherine Hardwicke has revealed exclusively to MTV News that the forthcoming “Twilight” DVD will feature a deleted scene from none other than “Midnight Sun,” the book which tells the story from Edward’s perspective that author Stephenie Meyer abandoned when it was prematurely leaked online. Awesome! It's a small victory, but we still want Midnight Sun to be published, Stephenie!

Twilight in the White House?In other news, according to the latest issue of US Weekly, Stephenie Meyer has a couple fans who will be moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in a couple months. The magazine reports that President-Elect Barack Obama and his ten-year-old daughter Malia often bond over addictive book series, “They read all the Harry Potter books together and have moved on to the Twilight series.”

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

We'll start with talking about The Awakening...What did you think of the characters when you first met them in this book? Did you like Elena? Did you like Stefan? Who do you think the TRUE villain in this story is? What is the significance of the crow in this book?Do you have any insights, predictions or questions you'd like answered? Comment below!!! Let's get our Bella Book Club ON!

Only 8 more days until the movie premieres! I'll try to post something cool about the movie each day to appease our anticipation for the big day. Today's "cool thing" is an interview with the stars from Twilight, PLUS a short scene from the cafeteria (!!!) that we haven't seen in it's entirety yet (I don't think). Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Even though the film debut is still a month away, plans are already in the works for another Twilight film!!! Hoo-RAY!This is according to Nikki Finke's Hollywood Deadline, who wrote:

When your soundtrack isn't even completed much less released (not until November 4th), yet it's already in the Top 5 Best-Selling Albums on Amazon based on pre-sales alone, you know you have a hit. When Borders makes an exclusive calendar and sells out the first printing in a matter of days, you know you have a hit. And when the new trailer to your movie surpasses 3.5 million views less than 48 hours after its online debut, you know you have a hit. Which is why Summit Entertainment's CEO Rob Friedman is already readying a Twilight sequel -- even though the vampire tween/tween movie isn't set for release until November 21st which is the date vacated by Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and did I mention that Twilight has the fastest selling licensed merchandise since -- you guessed it -- Harry Potter?

The official run time of the Twilight movie has been announced! According to Summit Entertainment, the movie will be about 120 minutes long. That's good news for many of us who are worried that a shorter 90-minute flick just wouldn't be long enough for the storyline and relationships to develop.According to MTV News:At various points during the film’s development, many have speculated that Catherine Hardwicke’s movie would run between 90 and 100 minutes, a typical length for most teen-oriented films. Since Meyer’s novel stands it at about 500 pages, concerns had naturally been raised over which beloved moments would need to be cut. With this news from Summit Entertainment, however, fans can find solace in knowing that the love story of Edward and Bella will be allowed a good two hours to develop. While we’re still not talking P.T. Anderson or Martin Scorsese length, 120 minutes is seen by most Hollywood insiders as long enough to tell a good story, but not so unwieldy that fewer showings need to be scheduled each day (thereby losing opening weekend revenue).

All I can say is, (sigh) O M E! (That's "Oh my Edward!")

In other news, MTV has also posted a text breakdown of the final trailer! If you want to read a commentary about each second of film that the third trailer shows, click here.

And finally, here's the latest graphic image from the studio: the theater lobby banner for Twilight:

Saturday, October 18, 2008

You won't be able to buy the Movie Soundtrack for Twilight until November 4, just 17 days before the movie is due in theaters, but you might be able to hear the soundtrack by attending a "listening party".

Atlantic Records confirmed this week that on October 24th at 7:00 p.m., Hot Topic stores will be hosting "Listening Parties" during which they will be playing the new soundtrack.

The first single off the album is Paramore's "Decode," which made its world premiere in early October on author Stephenie Meyer's Web site. You can listen to it here. Decode [High Quality] - Paramore

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Watch this short video made like a movie trailer for Tantalize, the book, that was designed by almost 18-year-old Shayne Leighton, found on Cynsations. It's pretty awesome...if you haven't read it yet, it'll seriously make you want to read Tantalize!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Have you started reading our second selection? It's Tantalize, a cool vampire novel set in an Italian restaurant. I read this when it was first published last summer, and couldn't put it down. The book is cleverly written, and sectioned into portions like a restaurant menu. Clearly, the author intends for us to savor and enjoy the "meal" as we digest this book!

The characters are great--let me introduce you to my friend, Quincie. She's smart, pretty, and brazen, and even though she's still a teen, she has a mind for business and mystery!

Please make your comments on Tantalize by clicking on the word, "Comments" below!

Well, it looks like most of you are well into the next book, Blood and Chocolate, which we will be discussing on November 6th. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't even started it yet! Still, I wanted to provide a place to put comments about this book on.

So, leave your comments below by clicking on the word, "comments". Select Name/URL if you don't have a blogger account. You won't have to leave a URL, just your name.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Did you see it? A new soundtrack, a few new clips, and some that we've already seen. What did you think? Did you notice things you hadn't seen before? The clips were so short, and as soon as I started thinking about one, they were on to something else! I really like the overall overcast gray look to the film---I think it really embodies what Forks is supposed to be like. I also like the lush green of the meadow, and the way the camera sort of spirals above them. I can't wait to see what they do with Edward's "sparkly" skin.

I took some screen shots from the trailer. What is the one with the gazebo covered in lights? When did Bella and Edward have their first dance? Could that be prom?

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Now that you've read a book, or several books in only a two-week period, how do you feel about reading more than one book by November's meeting?

Several of you have commented that you are able to read more than just the first book in the Vampire Kisses series...some of you have read all the way to book 5 in the series. (BTW, if you want to read books 2-5, see me at Tecumseh Branch. I can probably hook you up with a copy of one.)

Currently, we have scheduled Blood and Chocolate to read before November 6th. Do you want to schedule a second book to read along with that? We will have four weeks before the next meeting. I was thinking that since Blood and Chocolate is a single book (not part of a series), maybe we could read another standalone book like Tantalize, then just move up the next series into that slot. (If you want to see the schedule of books that we chose through February, scroll down!)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

So…what did you think? I finished book one, and have finished book two, Kissing Coffins. Post your comments here by clicking on “comments” below.

Did this book (Vampire Kisses) leave you with questions? I know that it did with me. That’s good! We need some questions for our discussion on October 9th. Post your questions by commenting below.

My questions were:

I didn’t feel like what Raven did was so awful. Why, without really any explanation, did Alexander just take off–angry at her? Did it seem in his character to just totally take the opinion of a stranger (Trevor) over the girl he loves without question?If he was so angry, how did he get over it in three days? It seemed unbelievable to me that just because the neighbors threw a welcome party, he has suddenly forgiven Raven. Does that make sense?

I liked book two better than book one. The plotline of Kissing Coffins is just so much better. It's not Twilight-good in my opinion, but it's okay. I like the addition of the new character, Jagger. I wonder where this will take us in the rest of the series!

One thing that still bothers me about these books--does it seem like Alexander as a character is less than fully developed? I just can't seem to get a feel for his personality. He seems flat to me.

Welcome to Bella’s Book Club Blog! This is where we can post ideas and thoughts on stuff we are reading, any time, day or night! I’ll also post cool Twilight stuff for us to share! The sidebar to the right is a video pod I put together called a “vodpod”. I collected these videos to share, so if you click on them, you can view them larger.

Bella's Videos

Bella's Book Club: About Us

Bella's Book Club is a real book club at the Allen County Public Library, Tecumseh Branch, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For more information, call 421-1360, or contact the Bella's Book Club librarian, Deb Noggle, by e-mail at dnoggle@acpl.info.

FTC Notice:

Librarians at the Allen County Public Library sometime receive Advance Reading Copies and other free books from a variety of publishers. After reading, some of these books find their way onto this blog before being added to the permanent Library collection or given as gifts to the participants in our book programs.

The Tecumseh Branch Library is a branch of the Allen County Public Library system in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We are a not-for-profit institution.